Individual variation in the content of free amino acids observed in the blood and muscle of chicks fed a single meal daily

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Abstract
Fifty broiler chicks in individual cages, were fed on a balanced diet ad lib until 10 days old and then given a single meal daily. Blood and pectoral muscle samples were taken from each. Free aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, valine, cystine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine lysine and arginine were determined. Free amino acid concentrations varied greatly between birds. Values for the coefficient of variation ranged from 0.21 for serine in both tissues to 0.571 and 0.749 for valine and lysine in blood and muscle, respectively. Many correlations for pairs of amino acids did not seem related to the body weight of chicks. [The concentration of free amino acids in blood and tissues represents an equilibrium between the amino acid intake in food, the rate of use in protein synthesis and catabolism. The factors which control appetite, metabolism or transport through membranes may modify the distribution of free amino acids in tissues (Munro, 1970).].

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